Watch: Katy Perry Mourns Broken American Dream in ‘Chained to the Rhythm’ Music Video

21 Feb 2017

Singer Katy Perry’s new music video for her first “purposeful” pop song, “Chained to the Rhythm,” depicts a broken American dream and sends a warning to people “living in a bubble.”

The visual spectacle sees Perry wandering through a 1950s science-fiction-esque theme park called “Oblivia.” Perry and the theme park’s patrons are seen riding a roller-coaster that flies off the tracks. People run on a giant hamster wheel that spins too fast. Surrounded by white picket fences, a ride called “The Great American Dream Drop” sees people pile into tiny houses that fall out of the sky and shatter into pieces.

But no matter the danger around them, the theme park’s guests are oblivious to it all. “So comfortable, we’re living in a bubble, bubble,” Perry sings amid the hysteria.

The music video appears to be full of political imagery; one ride hurls the theme park’s visitors over a wall that reads “Safe trip home,” in what could be a critique of President Donald Trump’s proposal to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Another ride featured in the video is called “Bomb’s Away,” while the theme park’s guests drink fiery water from a vendor called “Inferno H20,” which could be a commentary on the Flint water crisis.

The four-minute Matthew Cullen-directed video was filmed in January at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California over a three-day span.

Perry, a vocal Hillary Clinton celebrity consigliere during the presidential campaign, performed “Chained to the Rhythm” at the Grammy Awards earlier this month while wearing an armband that read “PERSIST” and a Planned Parenthood button.